PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
In the present volume the materials and methods of the painter of pictures are viewed mainly from the chemical standpoint. An attempt has been made to treat in orderly sequence the various kinds of painting-grounds, the constituents of vehicles and varnishes, the pigments themselves, and the chief processes of painting. Although the artistic side of the numerous problems discussed has not been neglected, the book is in no way intended to teach manipulation to art students. It has been written with the view of explaining to artists, whether they be accomplished masters or commencing students, the chief chemical and physical characters of the materials with which they deal and of the operations they practise. In many instances a sketch of the processes for preparing certain pigments and varnishes is given, not in order to turn the painter into a colour-maker or a varnish-manufacturer, but rather that he may acquire a clearer insight into the nature and properties of the most important constituents entering into the composition of his pictures. With regard, however, to the tests for purity and genuineness which I have described in the following pages,
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